The Stone Circle
by Hitokiri Chiburi
Summary: Ray is married to Enrique. They haven’t seen each other for 2 years because of a war. When they go on a second honeymoon to Scotland Enrique brings Ray to a Stone Circle. Ray goes back and it's like always... Curiosity kills the cat... (Pairing:first En
1. Second Honeymoon

Title: The Stone Circle  
  
Author: Chi-chan  
  
Series: Beyblade  
  
Warnings: Some language, some Yaoi actions, violence  
  
Rating: PG-13 (some scenes R)  
  
Pairings: Not gonna tell *evil grin* you'll find out as the story proceeds  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing.. oh well.. that's life!  
  
Remarks: Ray is married to Enrique. They haven't seen each other for 2 years because of a war that started 1 month after they had married. Enrique fought in the war and Ray had learned to be a nurse. After the war is over they go on a second honeymoon back to Scotland where they had married. There they find a Stone Circle. Ray can't resist going back to the Circle. But doesn't everybody know the old saying??? "Curiosity killed the cat." (At first the pairing is Ray+Enrique, but that changes very quickly.)  
  
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'Second Honeymoon'  
  
Enrique woke up. Ray was still sleeping next to him. He turned to look at Ray. He hadn't seen him for 2 years and now finally he was on his second honeymoon with him.  
  
The sun was shining through the window and tickled Ray's nose which made him sneeze. He woke up looking kind of confused.  
  
"Morning sunshine!" Enrique smiled at him.  
  
"Morning.." He mumbled back.  
  
"Time to get up!! Come on! I wanna show you something!!" Enrique had already jumped out of bed and was getting dressed. He kissed Ray on the forehead.  
  
"Hmm.. well ok.. where are we gonna go???"  
  
"It's a surprise! Come on you'll like it!" he smiled at Ray.  
  
"Well ok if you say so." Ray got up and put his clothes on.  
  
It was a nice warm day. The sun was shining and a cool breeze was blowing as they were being driven to the place Enrique had wanted to bring Ray to.  
  
"We're about there!" The driver told them cheerfully.  
  
"That was very nice of you to drive us here." Enrique thanked the man as they got out of the car at the foot of a hill.  
  
"You're staying at my inn and I like you people! It was no problem. When should I pick you guys up again??" he asked Enrique friendly.  
  
"About 2 hours would be great!"  
  
"Ok see you two back here in two hours." He drove off waving back at them.  
  
Enrique grabbed Ray's hand and started walking up the hill. Suddenly he stopped.  
  
"Ok Ray. Close your eyes! I'll tell you when to open them again, ok?!"  
  
Ray closed his eyes and Enrique led him the rest of the way. Ray noticed the lightly wet soil had changed into gravel under his feet when Enrique stopped and told him he could open his eyes.  
  
His jaw was about to drop onto the floor. Enrique watched Ray amused.  
  
"WOW!! This is. this is a real.. a real Stone Circle, isn't it?!" Ray looked around, it was all so fascinating.  
  
"That it is! I thought you'd like it." Enrique smiled at Ray.  
  
"Like?... I love it!! Thank you sooo much for brining me here!!!"  
  
They looked around some more and picnicked. The two hours were over in a flash and when it was time to go again, Ray turned to the Stone Circle once more. Suddenly a flower growing at one of the Stones, which had a crack through it, caught Ray's attention. Since he didn't have any books with him to define the flower and the man from the inn was already blowing his horn to tell them that he had arrived, he decided on going back later. He would just ask the man to bring him back this evening.  
  
They drove back to the inn and ate dinner. Afterwards Ray went for a little walk through the streets of Inverness. When he came back it was starting to get dark again. He went straight to the room he and Enrique were staying in. When he opened the door Enrique was sitting at the desk writing something. He turned his head when he heard the door open.  
  
"Ray? Do you know some guy over here??" He asked Ray.  
  
"No not really, why?"  
  
"Well there was this strange man dressed in highland clothes, kilt and all. Oh and he had blue/gray hair.... He was looking into the room for about 40 minutes. When I went down to ask him what he was doing he looked at me, said 'Where's Ray?'. When I told him I didn't know he turned and left."  
  
"Hm I have no idea who it could be."  
  
"Maybe someone you took care of in the war?"  
  
"Maybe.."  
  
Ray took his book and went back downstairs again to look for the man who had brought them to the Stone Circle the fist time. He found him standing on the steps as he walked passed.  
  
"Can I help you, sir?" The man asked friendly.  
  
"Yes.. I was wondering if you could maybe just take me to the Stone Circle really quick. I saw this beautiful flower there and just wanted to have a closer look at it."  
  
"Why sure! Come we'll go really quick!" The man smiled at Ray.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
They got in the car and started driving.  
  
The man picked up the conversation again.  
  
"Tonight is a special night!"  
  
"Oh really? Why?!"  
  
"Don't you know that the 30th of April is Beltane?"  
  
"What is Beltane?"  
  
"It's an old Celtic Witches holiday. But the 'Witches' should be gone by the time we get to the Stone Circle. They go there to celebrate." The man explained.  
  
He was right. By the time Ray had gotten to the Stone Circle there was no one there anymore. But the fire in the middle was still burning. Ray found the stone right away. He stepped up to it and suddenly felt a headache like he had never had before. He dropped the book and fainted.  
  
When he woke up the sun was shining. Looking around he heard shouts and screams and went to see where they came from. He got up and started walking towards the sound. As he stepped to a point where he could see behind the hill he couldn't believe his eyes.  
  
'Oh my god! This can't be happening!!!! Or maybe. it's all just a dream! Or someone is making a movie! Yea that's it.... someone must be making a movie!'  
  
He looked down one more time, but what he saw than made it one hundred percent clear, that it was NOT a movie..  
  
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Chi: Where is Ray? What did he see?? How come he's not married to Kai???? All of that in the next chapter!!! I hope you like it *smile* wanted to do something I haven't seen here yet *fg*  
  
If you have any more questions. just write them and I'll try to answer *smile*  
  
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! R&R and tell me if I should go on or just stop the story because it's trash.. 


	2. The man in the woods

'The man in the woods'  
  
The men were a good bit away. Two or three wearing kilts and running over the glade like little bunnies. Suddenly Ray heard shots and saw a man riding with a sword, that was definitely not fake, and hitting the head off one of the men with kilts.  
  
The screams changed drastically. Hooves were hitting over the ground and Ray saw horses galloping towards him, on these horses there were Scotts wearing kilts and jelling Gaelic words. Ray quickly jumped aside. He decided to try to get back to where he had come from, meet up with the man from the inn and go back home again.  
  
He turned and started walking thru the woods since he didn't feel safe going over open places. That didn't turn out to be such a good idea because his clothes always stuck in the bushes that seemed to cover the ground like a carpet.  
  
If he would have been a snake Ray would have stepped on him. Ray wouldn't have noticed him, if he hadn't grabbed Ray by the arm with one hand and covered his mouth with the other. Then he pulled Ray into an oak grove. He couldn't be much bigger than Ray but he was awfully strong! Ray smelled a faint flowery scent mixed with the harsh scent of sweat.  
  
While Ray was pulled back he noticed something familiar about the hand.  
  
"Enrique! Why the hell are you doing this???"  
  
He turned to look at Enrique but suddenly froze.  
  
"You aren't Enrique..."  
  
"No...." said the man while taking a closer look at Ray.  
  
"I have a cousin with this name but I doubt that you've mistaken him for me... we look nothing alike..."  
  
"And who may you be?" Ray asked a little unsure. He thought he knew all of Enrique's family and Enrique would have mentioned a close relative in the Highlands.  
  
"Who may I be? I could be asking you the same question and that with a lot more authorization." He looked at Ray closely. Letting his sight wander over the clothes he was wearing. Ray felt nervous again and he stepped back a few feet until he was leaning against a tree stump.  
  
Finally the man turned away from him to pick up his skirt from a low hanging branch. Ray sighed. It was as if a heavy weight had been taken off his chest when the man had turned his sight from him.  
  
The man turned around again when he heard Ray gasp. The skirt was scarlet red, and looked exactly like a skirt of an English Dragonet! When the man reached for his sword to put it back in place Ray gave up the idea completely that this was just a movie. It was just too real to be a replica! He folded his arms in front of his chest.  
  
"Who the hell are you, damned?!" he asked again. He sounded scared, even in his own ears.  
  
The man ignored Rays question, as if he hadn't heard it. He set his skirt without any haste. When he was finished he turned to Ray again. Ironically he bowed in front of Ray, his hand on his heart.  
  
"I am Tala, captain of Majesties eights Dragonet regiment, at your service."  
  
Ray turned and ran. Ripping his clothes at the branches and thorns in his way, tripping over stones and other small things lying on the ground. He heard somebody yell something, but he was much to brought to understand a word that was said or from which direction it had come. He fled blindly. He didn't care about the branches and such that were cutting into his skin, he just wanted to get away from this man! It had been the same name that Enrique had always said when he had told Ray about his family history! Ray remembered how proud Enrique had always told him that he was a descendent of Tala the Demon! A name given to him, because he slayed his opponents demon like.  
  
Suddenly something hit Ray in the back and he fell forwards. He was turned around roughly.  
  
"What in gods name were you thinking when you ran off like that?" Tala looked as angry as he could possibly get. He picked Ray up by the shoulders. Ray tried to get out of Tala's grip, but he couldn't. While trying, Ray lost his balance and fell backwards pulling Tala with him. Tala landed on top of him suddenly he didn't seem angry anymore.  
  
"So that's what you wanted....." he chuckled quietly. "I'd love to come back on that but you've picked a very bad moment. Right now I don't have much time..."  
  
He pressed Ray down, but a stone was hurting his back, so he struggled underneath Tala. Tala pressed his lower body against Rays and his hands were holding Rays shoulders down. Ray opened his mouth in protest.  
  
"What the hell do you think you....." he started, but Tala lowered his head and started kissing Ray. From one second to the other he got up again. "I'll come back to that later when I have the time." he smiled at Ray. The smile faded when Ray started yelling at him and hit his knee into Tala's most intimate parts. Tala rolled to the side and Ray quickly got up. He was standing at on of the cliffs that were so typical for Scotland! The only way to get out was closed by Tala who had gotten up again already.  
  
"With whom were you together? With this Enrique? I have no man with that name in my regiment. Or is it someone living close to here?" he smiled a fake smile. "You don't look like you are married to one of those poor farmers."  
  
"I don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about, and I would appreciate if you would let me pass now..." Ray was holding back the fear but reinforcing the anger he was feeling.  
  
"Not yet, my sweet..." Tala smiled. "But what I'd really like to know is how a whore can afford such shoes?"  
  
"A WHAT?" Ray was staring to get very angry.  
  
Tala ignored it. He stepped up to Ray and grabbed his chin.  
  
"Let go!!!" Ray tried to get out of Tala's grip, but it was as if Tala's fingers were of steel.  
  
"Truly you don't have the skin of a whore and you don't talk like one either."  
  
"Thank you for the compliments, but now get out of my way!" Ray hissed. He tried to push by Tala, but couldn't make it. Suddenly Ray heard a sound and Tala flew forwards. He had a bundle of what looked like covers on his back. A hairy fist, at least it looked like one rushed out of the covers and hit him against the head. The legs stopped moving and it seemed as if the fist had hit him unconscious.  
  
Ray found himself looking into black eyes. (1)  
  
"And who the hell are you?" Ray asked astonished.  
  
"Over there!" he said instead of an answer and pulled Ray after him. Ray was still so shocked by what had just happened that he followed him without a word. The man pulled Ray along a path. It had branches hanging into it and it went in a zigzag, so you could never see more than 3 meters in front of yourself, but it was unmistakably a path. A path going straight up, towards a crest.  
  
When they were going down again Ray was conscious enough of the situation to ask again where they were going. Still the strange guy didn't answer so he repeated his Question a little louder.  
  
"Where on Earth are we going, dammed?!"  
  
To his surprise the other man turned around, looked at him and pushed him back into the bush, closing Rays mouth and throwing himself over Ray.  
  
'Not again?!" Ray thought, then he heard what the other man had heard and lay still. Voices were calling once in a while, splattering sounds and hooves bellowing over the ground. The voices were English, there was no doubt about that. Again he tried to get loose, Ray even bit the other mans hand and noticed full of disgust that he had eaten fish shortly before. How Ray hated fish! He didn't get to think about it any longer though, a stone hit the back of his head and everything turned black around him.  
  
The Kate (2) was starting to show through the night fog. Since Ray didn't know how long he had been unconscious, he couldn't say how far away this place was from the Craigh na Dun (3). He was sitting on a horse, his hands tied to the handle of the saddle, the other man sitting behind him. Since there was no road they traveled slowly.  
  
Ray assumed only being unconscious for a short time; Other than a small bump on the back of his head he didn't feel any effects of the hit on the head. The other guy had answered all of Ray's questions, requests and bitchy comments with a Scottish word that said everything, yet nothing.  
  
- Hmmpf -  
  
If Ray had had any doubts which nationality the man was from this sound would have been enough too destroy them.  
  
Ray's eyes had gotten used to the dim light of the woods, so it was a shock to him to suddenly be standing in a room filled with light. The looks were deceiving though, actually the room was only lighted by a fire in a fire- place, some candles and a dangerous looking oil lantern.  
  
"What did you bring us there Ian?"  
  
The man stepped beside Ray.  
  
"I suppose this Kawaii-Bishi (4) is English, I take that from the way he talks."  
  
There were a few men in the room and all of them were staring at Ray, some curious and some undoubtly lustful. His clothes had suffered some throughout the day and he quickly checked the damage. When he looked down he saw a cut going through his pants, somewhere where he couldn't use it right now! And he was sure the other guys had seen it, too. If he would have tried to fix it, he would have only drawn attention towards it, so he made faces towards the guys hoping to distract them and himself. "English or not... he's pretty cute!" the man sitting at the fire said. He had a piece of bread in his hand and didn't even put it down when he went towards Ray. He lifted Rays chin and swept some strains of hair out of Ray's face. A few breadcrumbs fell into Ray's shirt. The other men gathered around, forming a formless mass of plaids and beards that smelled badly like sweat and alcohol.  
  
"Come here boy!"  
  
A tall guy sitting at a table had called towards Ray. He seamed to be the leader of the group. The others stepped out of the way as Ian brought Ray towards the leader.  
  
The leader looked pretty good and not at all unfriendly, still he didn't look like anybody you'd want to start a fight with.  
  
"What's your name boy?" the voice was not as deep as Ray had expected it to be.  
  
"Ray..... Ray Kon.... And what did that help you....?"  
  
But the dark haired man ignored Ray and started a habit that Ray would soon be getting very annoyed with.  
  
"Kon?... That's not a British name, is it?"  
  
"No it's not."  
  
The man turned to Ian.  
  
"Where did you find him?" he asked.  
  
"At the Craigh na Dun, Robert. He was fighting with a Dragonet officer I know by chance." he raised and Eyebrow. "They were arguing over the question whether this kawaii boy is a whore or not."  
  
Robert looked at Ray again.  
  
"Is that so? Which side was this boy on?"  
  
"He said he was not a whore, but the officer seemed as if he was going to put it to the test...."  
  
"We could do the same..." the man from before stepped up to Ray again, his hands on his belt. Ray quickly stepped back a few feet.  
  
"That's enough Spencer!" Robert looked over to Ray again and Spencer left Ray alone, even though he didn't seem too happy about that.  
  
"I don't support forcing the boy to do something he doesn't want to; and we don't have time anyway."  
  
Ray listened to this principle and was quite happy about it, even if the moral behind it seemed questionable to him. When he looked at the other men Ray still felt uncomfortable. He didn't know what they wanted, but they seemed somehow dangerous to him. Ray held back a lot of unwise comments.  
  
"What do you say now, Ian? He doesn't seem to like Spencer..." Robert started the conversation again.  
  
"That's no prove! He didn't offer him any money! You can't expect a sweet boy as him to take on Spencer without good money... before that is!" one of the others said, amusing the rest. Robert stopped the noise with a wink of his hand and tilted his head towards the door. The man who had said this, left, still grinning.  
  
Ian, who had not started laughing, took a look at Ray again and shook his head.  
  
"No." he said finally. "I don't know what he is, but I'll bet on my best shirt, that he's no whore!" Ray only hoped that the shirt he was wearing wasn't his best one, since that one didn't look like it would be worth betting about.  
  
"If you say so Ian, you know what you're talking about." Spencer said sneering.  
  
"We'll talk about that later!" Robert stopped the argument. "We still have to get a good bit of way behind us today and we have to do something about Kai. He can't ride like that."  
  
Ray stepped into the shadows and since Ian had taken off the ropes that had tied his hands together, he thought he might get away from these guys. All of the guys had turned their attention towards a young man cowering in a corner, keeping his head down and holding his right shoulder with his left hand, probably because it was hurting. During the whole time Ray had been there he hadn't said a word.  
  
Robert softly pushed the young mans hand aside. One of the others pulled his plaid to the side. A bloody linen shirt appeared underneath. Another man stepped up to him with a knife and slit the shirt's arm off.  
  
Ray gasped like many of the others. The shoulder had a deep wound and blood was running over the young mans chest in a stable flow. Still the shoulder itself was even more shocking! The shoulder joint was a big bump underneath the skin and the arm was hanging down in an impossible angle.  
  
"Hmmpf." Robert grumbled. "Looks painful. Poor guy." The young man looked up for the first time since Ray had come. He had a pretty face, even now when it was contorted with pain.  
  
"When the musket bullet hit me I flew out of the saddle and landed on my hand with my entire weight, than it cracked and my joint was out."  
  
"Yes, it definitely popped out." the guy from before said towards the others. "The wound itself isn't that bad. It bleeds enough and it's a clear shot. But the arm... we'll need someone to put the joint back in. You can't ride like that, can you Kai?"  
  
Kai shook his head. His face was white from the pain.  
  
"It hurt's badly already when I sit still, I don't even want to think about the pain when I ride.... No I can't get on a horse." he closed his eyes and bit into his lower lip. Ian started back into the conversation.  
  
"We can't leave him behind either, am I right? The Redskirts are not good in trail reading, but they'll find this place eventually. And Kai can't say he works here with that wound." Ian pointed towards the wound.  
  
"Don't worry.... I don't intend to leave him here." Robert said.  
  
The one standing at Kai's side the whole time sighed.  
  
"Than it won't help... we'll have to get the joint back in ourselves. Ian and Spencer you two hold him and I try."  
  
Ray watched as the man tried to pull it straight up. The angle was completely wrong and it must have been hurting Kai as hell. Sweat was dropping from his face but other than a quiet sigh you heard nothing from him. Suddenly he fell forwards and only Ian and Spencer kept him from falling face forward to the ground.  
  
One of the others took a leather bottle and held it onto his lips. Kai coughed and choked, still he swallowed. The golden shining drink dropped onto his shirt.  
  
"Want me to try again, boy?" the man asked. "Or maybe Spencer should try this time." the man suggested and turned to Spencer.  
  
Spencer cracked his knuckles and grabbed the arm, apparently trying it with brutality. It was clear to Ray that the bones would break like old wood.  
  
"Stop that immediately!" Ray had totally forgotten about escaping, he was too shocked over the methods of medicine they were about to use. The others looked at him shocked, but he didn't care.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" the man from earlier said angrily.  
  
"That's supposed to mean that you'll break his arm if you do it that way.... now please step to the side!" Ray pushed Spencer aside and grabbed Kai's arm. He seemed surprised as the others, still he didn't protest.  
  
"You have to get the upper arm into the right angle, or it won't go back." Ray was panting while pulling the hand upwards and the elbow towards himself. Kai had a lot of muscles; his arm was heavy as metal!  
  
"Now comes the worst part!" Ray warned Kai. He gripped Kais elbow, ready to pull it up.  
  
The corners of Kai's mouth twitched, kind of as if he was smiling. "It can't get a lot worse then now. Go on ahead."  
  
By this time the sweat was running over Ray's face too. It was hard work trying to get his joint back in!  
  
Suddenly the shoulder gave a little crunching sound, and the arm was back to normal. Kai looked confused. Unbelievingly he raised his hand to test the shoulder.  
  
"It doesn't hurt anymore!" a grin spread across his face and the others applauded.  
  
"It doesn't now, but it'll come back." Ray was still sweating from the effort, still he was pleased with the result. "The joint will still be very sensitive for a while so you can't use it for two to three days, and if you do use it than very careful!!! If you feel pain, stop immediately!" The patient listened to Ray respectfully, the others looked at Ray surprised to even suspiciously.  
  
"I'm a nurse..." Ray explained, because he felt he should somehow justify himself.  
  
Spencer and Robert looked at him. Then they looked at each other. Finally Robert looked into Ray's face again and pulled an eyebrow up. "How ever that may be... you seem to be good at healing. Is it possible for you to fix this boy's wound so he can ride a horse?" he asked. "I can put a bandage around the wound yes..... that is if you have bandages. But how did you get the idea that I'd want to help you?" Ray asked harshly.  
  
Again he was ignored; Robert just turned around and started talking in a language Ray thought was Gaelic. He'd addressed a young woman sitting in a corner. Since there were men around Ray the whole time he hadn't even noticed her. She didn't only have dirty clothes on, she herself also seemed dirty. Ray looked around and saw that the Kate didn't only lack electricity, but also flowing water.  
  
The girl had jumped up instantly and left the room. Soon she came back with some cloth.  
  
Ray looked at the cloth and touched it with his fingertips. Then he shook his head.  
  
"No, that won't work.... the wound has to be cleaned and disinfected and then bandaged in clean cloth, if you don't have any sterile bandages!"  
  
The man that had tried to doctor on Kai first looked at Ray.  
  
"Disinfected?" he asked pronouncing it over carefully.  
  
"Indeed!" Ray answered. "All the dirt has to be cleaned out of the wound. And it has to be treated with an ointment - that'll stop germs from spreading and kill those, which already exist. Also it'll speed up the healing process."  
  
"What is an ointment?"  
  
"For example Iodine." since the faces Ray was looking into still seamed to not know what he was talking about he tried it again.  
  
"Or even Alcohol...."  
  
Relief spread over the faces of the other men; that was finally something they knew!  
  
Ray sighed. He was starting to get impatient.  
  
Suddenly Robert left into the night and came back only seconds later. When he saw the questioning faces of his men he shook his head. "No, not there yet. We'll get a move on right now. Now there's no danger."  
  
He looked at Ray for a moment and thought.  
  
Then he nodded towards Ray - he had made his decision.  
  
"He's coming with us." Robert said. He looked around in the staple of clothes and pulled out something that looked like an old towel. The man from before seemed to not want Ray to go with them.  
  
"Why don't we just leave him here?"  
  
Robert looked at him angrily, still he left the explaining to Ian.  
  
"Where ever the English are, when day breaks they'll be here and till then it isn't long. If he's spying for the English we can't risk leaving him, since he'll tell them which direction we went. And if he doesn't get along with the English we can't leave him either. We couldn't just leave him here all alone, owning only the clothes on his body."  
  
His face lit up as he touched the clothes Ray was wearing.  
  
"And he might be worth some ransom! He's wearing some fine cloth."  
  
"And he can be of some use." Robert added. "He seems to know a lot about fixing people up again. But right now we don't have time for that. You'll have to leave without being 'disinfected' Kai." he tapped Kai's ok shoulder. "Can you ride with only one hand?"  
  
"Aye."  
  
"Good boy. Here!" Robert threw a smeary piece of cloth towards Ray.  
  
"Bandage his wound. Quickly. We've got to be on our way. You two get the horses..." he ordered Spencer and Ian. Ray turned the cloth in his hands, disgusted.  
  
"I can't take that, it's as dirty as it could possibly be!"  
  
Suddenly Ray was turned around by the shoulders and Robert was looking him straight in the eye.  
  
"Get to work!" he grumbled.  
  
He pushed Ray back a little when he let his shoulders go and left the room. Ray still didn't know what to think, still he started cleaning the wound as good as he could. He couldn't take the dirty cloth, the doctor in him forbid that. After searching for something in the staple he gave up and ripped a peace of cloth off his shirt. It wasn't sterile, but it was the cleanest thing he could find.  
  
He ripped the arm of the shirt Kai was wearing completely and made a holder for his arm out of it. When he was finished he stepped back a few steps and ran into Robert. He looked at what Ray had done. "Good work boy. Come on, were ready to go."  
  
Robert gave the woman a coin and went out of the Kate. Kai followed, still a little white around the nose.  
  
Now that Kai had gotten up Ray saw how tall Kai actually was. He was a good bit taller than Ray.  
  
Ian and Spencer were standing outside with 6 horses and were mumbling in Gaelic. It was a moonless night, still the metal parts on the reigns shone like silver. Ray looked up and was fascinated. He'd never seen so many stars in the sky ever before! And since there was no town near the stars were the Kings of the night.  
  
The men around Ray were almost formless shadows in the dark. Ray thought about just hiding in the bushes, but Robert, who somehow seemed to know what Ray was thinking, grabbed his elbow and pulled him towards the horses.  
  
"Get on the horse, Kai! The boy's riding with you." his grip around Ray's elbow hardened. "If Kai can't manage you'll take over the reigns, and watch out that you stay near us! If you try anything I'll slit your throat. Understand?"  
  
Ray nodded. His mouth was so dry he couldn't even answer. Robert's voice hadn't clung all too threatening, still Ray believed every single word. He was tempted about as much to do 'something', as he knew what do actually 'do'.  
  
He didn't know where he was, where he was going in such a rush and especially not who the men were. Still he had no choice but to go with them.  
  
He wanted to get back to Enrique - he would probably be looking for Ray by now - but this didn't seem like the perfect time to mention him. Robert must have known that he nodded, because he suddenly let go of Ray's arm and bend down in front of him. Ray didn't know what to think of that until Robert hissed: "Your foot, boy! Give me your foot! No, the left one...." he added almost sounding disgusted. Quickly Ray took his right foot out of Roberts hand and got onto the horse, after putting his left foot in Roberts hand. Robert lifted him in front of Kai and Kai pulled Ray closer to him with his ok arm.  
  
Even though his situation wasn't the best, Ray was glad about the warmth Kai gave him. He smelled like Smoke from a fire, blood and unwashed man, still the cool night air was going through Ray's ripped clothes and he was starting to get cold so he thankfully leaned on Kai.  
  
The saddles and reigns made sounds, as they rode into the night. The men didn't talk at all, still they all seemed careful and as if they were watching out for something. When they got to the road the horses started trotting, and Ray was shook through so he didn't even want to talk, besides no one would have paid any attention to him anyway.... Kai didn't seem to have many problems though, even without using his right arm. Ray felt him moving his legs, to get the horse to go faster, once in a while or to get the horse to change the direction. Ray was holding on to the saddle. He had sat on a horse before, but wasn't really a good rider.  
  
After a while they arrived at a road crossing, where they made halt for a few minutes while Robert and Ian talked about something, whispering. Kai let the reigns of his horse go and the horse went to the side of the road to eat some grass. Suddenly Kai started moving from side to side behind Ray.  
  
"Careful! Don't move like that or your bandage is gonna go loose on you! Why are you doing that anyway?" Ray asked.  
  
"I wanna put my plaid over you. You're shivering. But with only one arm I can't do it. Can you open the brooch?"  
  
After pulling a little on the plaid, Ray finally got it loose. Kai thru it over both of them with an ease Ray hadn't expected. Kai let it go around his shoulders like a scarf and than tucked the ends underneath the saddle so they were both nice and warm underneath.  
  
"There you go. We don't want you freezing to death before we get there." Kai smiled.  
  
"Thanks. But where are we going anyway?" Ray asked.  
  
Ray couldn't see Kais face. Anyway, he was silent for a short time, before he answered. Suddenly he started laughing.  
  
"To be honest, boy, I don't know myself. But when were there, we'll know, right?"  
  
Ray somehow felt he knew the place they were about to ride by. He thought he knew the Rock that looked like a tail of a rooster.  
  
"The Cocknammon Rock!" he shouted.  
  
"Aye." Kai answered unmoved.  
  
"Didn't the English use this place for ambushes?" Ray asked, remembering what Enrique had once told him. Enrique was a real history fanatic and Ray had often had to listen to his 'history lessons' even though they didn't interest him very much.  
  
"If the English are close..." Ray hesitated. If the English were close he may not be doing the right thing drawing everyone's attention towards it. On the other hand, if there was an ambush, he would seem like a Scot, since he was under the plaid of one. He thought of Tala and shuttered unwillingly.  
  
Kai made a snapping sound with his tong and directed his horse next to Roberts and started talking Gaelic with him. The horses started going slower.  
  
Robert made a sign and him, Kai and Ian stayed back as the other three started galloping towards the Stones. The moon was shining bright by now and you could see everything, everything that is, except something in the shadows of the rocks. When the riders had come to the Cocknammon Rock a musket was shot. Another was shot directly behind Ray and the horses went nuts. Ian, Robert, Kai and Ray were galloping towards the Rock. Screams were sounding through the night.  
  
Ray was holding on to the saddle knob again, fearing for his life. Kai suddenly stopped next to a bush, lifted Ray out of the saddle and put him down into the bush. Then Kai turned his horse and galloped around the Rock again. When the horse disappeared into the shadows Kai was leaning really low on its back. When the horse came back, still galloping, the saddle was empty.  
  
The surface of the Cocknammon Rock was mallard with shadows; Ray heard shouts and once in a while a shot, still he couldn't say if the movements he saw in the shadows were humans or trees growing on the rock, moving in the wind.  
  
Ray climbed out of the bush and removed the leaves and little branches from his clothes and out of his hair. He licked over a wound on his hand and thought about what to do next. He had 2 choices. He could either wait till the fight was finished. If the Scots won or at least stayed alive, they would come back for him. If not he could go to the English, but they would probably think that he was working together with the Scots, since he was in their company.  
  
Maybe it was best to not choose a side in this conflict. Since he knew about where he was he had a chance of coming back to the stone circle and going back to his time, even if he had to walk the whole way. He went towards the road, stumbling over many rocks that were laying in the way. Walking in the moonlight was a tricky thing. Ray raised his feet way to high some times to step over things that didn't exist, but in his fantasy, then other times he bumped his feet at the rocks. Finally he was standing at the road. He looked to see the lights of Inverness, but there weren't any.  
  
A shadow stepped out of the darkness - Ray almost ran into him. He held back a scream and wanted to turn to run, but a hand on his shoulder held him back.  
  
"Don't worry, boy. It's me."  
  
"That's what I've feared...." actually Ray was somewhat happy about it being Kai. He wasn't as scared of him as of the others. Of course he looked as fierce as the rest of them, but Ray had just taken care of his wounds and he'd never felt fear for one of his patients, ever.  
  
"I hope you didn't use that shoulder too much...." Ray said calmly. "The little fight wasn't good for the shoulder I must say..." Kai stepped into the moonlight massaging his hurt shoulder. Suddenly Ray noticed the big bloodstain on his shirt. All the plans of fleeing were gone in a second. 'It must be an artery!' he thought 'But... then why is he still standing?!' "You're hurt! Is the wound from the shoulder bleeding again, or is this a new one? Sit down and let me look!" Ray was already pushing Kai towards a stack of rocks and going through the First-Aid that he was able to do with the little things he had, which was in other words what he was wearing. He grabbed the bottom of his already ripped shirt and wanted to rip another piece off, when Kai started laughing. Ray looked at him confused.  
  
"Don't worry about it boy. It's not my blood, at least not much of it." he added as he pulled the blood soaked cloth from his chest.  
  
"Oh." was the only remark Ray was able to give.  
  
"Robert and the others are probably waiting at the street already. Let's go." Kai took me by the arm, not a gentlemen-thing, but more of a way of forcing me into going with him. Suddenly Ray stopped walking and leaned back so it was almost impossible for Kai to drag him along.  
  
"No! I'm not coming!"  
  
Kai stopped confused.  
  
"Yes. You're coming." that Ray didn't want to come, didn't seem to bug Kai in any way. Actually it seemed to amuse him that Ray didn't want to be kidnapped again.  
  
"And if I don't want to? Will you slit my throat?" Ray asked.  
  
He thought about it for a minute and then answered calmly.  
  
"No. You don't look as if you're too heavy. If you're not coming by free will, I'll just throw you over my shoulder.... want me to?" he stepped towards Ray and Ray stepped back a few steps. He didn't have the slightest doubt that Kai would do what he had just said.  
  
"No! You can't do that or you'll hurt your shoulder again!"  
  
Ray couldn't see Kai's face very clearly, but he saw how his teeth shone in the moonlight - he was smiling.  
  
"If you don't want me to hurt myself again, then you'll just have to come along by your own free will." Ray wanted to say something, but couldn't. Again Kai took his arm and they went towards the street.  
  
The other men were waiting not far away on the street. There seemed to have been no losses on their side since all 6 of them were there. Again Ray tried to get onto the horse, this time without help. He tried to get into the saddle quite clumsy and accidentally hit his head against Kai's hurt shoulder. Kai pulled in the air through his teeth.  
  
Ray let all his angriness and the fact that he was sorry for hurting Kai, out by getting mad.  
  
"Serves you right! I told you not to move the shoulder and now you probably have ripped muscles and not just bruises."  
  
This seemed to amuse Kai.  
  
"I had no choice! If I wouldn't have moved my shoulder, I would not be able to move anything anymore! I can finish off 1, maybe 2 of the English army with one hand, but 3 is definitely too much, even for me!" Kai boasted. He pulled Ray against his bloody shirt as he continued speaking. "And anyway you can fix that again when were there where were going!" "If you say so..." Ray answered a little pissed off, trying to get away from the wet shirt. Kai did a smacking sound again with his tong and they got a move on again. The men were having a good time after the fight. They drank a few times, saying thanks to Ray for giving them the tip with the ambush.  
  
They offered Ray one of the bottles, but he didn't want any at first, since he found it difficult enough to stay in the saddle, even without drinking. The men were talking about the ambush the whole time. Ray found out by listening, that there were 10 men with muskets and swords. They had been English soldiers.  
  
Someone gave Kai his bottle and when he drank Ray smelled the faint scent of honey. He wasn't thirsty, but he was hungry already for a long time now. His stomached started grumbling really loud. Spencer, who thought it was Kai's stomached that had grumbled so loud, turned to look at him.  
  
"Hey Kai! Are you hungry? Or have you got a bagpipe with you?" Kai, well knowing that it was Ray's stomached that had made the sound, answered.  
  
"Hungry enough to eat a bagpipe!" he jelled back.  
  
Only moments later he was holding the bottle in front of my face.  
  
"Drink a sip." he whispered. "It won't fill your stomached, but it'll make you forget that you're hungry."  
  
'And a few other things I hope.' Ray thought as he brought the bottle to his lips.  
  
Kai had been right, the alcohol had made a little fire in Ray's stomached, which made him forget the hunger he was feeling. They were riding for a few kilometers without any disturbances, Kai and Ray always switching between drinking and holding the reigns.  
  
Suddenly Kais breath started to rustle. Their not so good balance seemed to be vanishing now. That confused Ray; they had drank about the same amount, still he wasn't drunk.... so Kai shouldn't be either. It seemed irrational, that Kai should be drunk when he wasn't.  
  
"Stop! Help! He's gonna fall!!" Ray called to the others.  
  
The others came around just in time to catch Kai as he fell off the horse like a sack of wheat.  
  
By the time Ray had gotten off the horse Kai was already bedded on a field.  
  
"He's breathing..." one of the men said.  
  
"That's not gonna help us now." Ray hissed and started searching for Kais pulse. Finally he found it. It was going fast, yet sable. He put his hand on Kai's stomached and his ear to Kai's mouth. He wasn't hustling like earlier anymore. Ray got up again.  
  
"I think he's just unconscious. Put a saddlebag underneath his legs and bring me some water, if there is any." It surprised Ray to see that they did as he said in an instant. This young man seemed to be important to them. Suddenly Kai coughed and opened his eyes again.  
  
"I'm ok again, don't worry about me. I'm only a little dizzy." he said while trying to sit up. Ray pressed him to the ground again.  
  
"Don't move that much! Actually don't move at all!" Ray looked at his wounds one more time and then turned to Robert.  
  
"The shot wound has started bleeding again and the idiot has got a wound from one of the swords, too. I don't think that it's that dramatical, but he's lost a lot of blood. He needs rest; we should stay till morning." Ray suggested.  
  
"No. We are far enough, that the British won't follow us anymore, but we've still got to go 15 more miles." Robert bend his head back and looked at the stars.  
  
"We'll still need 5 hours the least. More like seven. We can stay till the bleeding has stopped and the wound is fixed up, but not longer."  
  
Ray grumbled as he started his work, while Robert commanded 2 of the men to have an eye on the horses. The others sat down and started drinking and talking again. Ian helped Ray, ripped the linens into stripes, got water, picked Kai up from the floor so that Ray could change the bandages, since Kai wasn't allowed to move under any circumstances. Ray ignored Kai's protesting consisting of him saying he was fine.  
  
Ray was really about to get angry.  
  
"You are not ok, goddamned! And to be honest I'm not surprised! What kind of an idiot doesn't even stop when a sword gets stuck into their body? Didn't you notice how bad you were bleeding? You can consider yourself lucky that you're not dead.... STOP MOVING YOU IDIOT!"  
  
Ray was trying to tighten the cloth stripes around the wounds, but he couldn't seem to get them to stay together. After only a few minutes he started sweating. Finally he had one end finished and started on the other. "Come here you.... AHR YOU GODDAMNED IDIOT!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANYONE AS DUMB AS YOU!"  
  
Kai had started moving and the tied end had gone loose.  
  
The others said nothing for a minute. "God almighty!" Spencer was the first to speak.  
  
"I've never heard a young boy like you curse like that!"  
  
"You should be taught not to speak like that!" a voice coming from where the horses were said.  
  
"It says in the Bible: 'Let the young be silent while being around elders.... (5)'"  
  
"Mind your own business" Ray hissed. "And the bible can mind its own shit, too!" Ray wiped across his forehead. "Turn him some to the left." Ray said to Ian. Then she turned to Kai. "And if you only move a muscle while I'm tightening this bandage.... I'm going to strangle you to death!" "Aye." Kai answered.  
  
Ray pulled to hard on the stripes and the whole thing came loose again. "To hell with this unholy crap!" Ray yelled and hit the ground with his fist. While he was looking at the loose ends the other men let out on his not appropriate language again.  
  
"Maybe we should send him to Ste. Anne, Robert!" one of the men said. "I haven't heard Kai say such things since he's been with us again. And he used to speak, that a sailor would blush! Those 4 months in the monastery must have been good for something. You don't misuse the lords name no more, do you Kai?"  
  
"You wouldn't either, if you would have been punished like me! I had to lay on the church floor for 3 hours..... in February! I only had a 2 hour punishment, but it took me another hour to get back off the floor. I thought my.... eh..... I thought I was frozen to the floor, but actually I was only frozen stiff from the cold."  
  
He really seamed to feel better, he started smiling again.  
  
"Be quiet or I'm gonna hurt you...." Kai gently went over the bandages and Ray hit him on the fingers.  
  
"Oh that was a threat? And that after I've shared my whisky with you!" he said boldly.  
  
The bottle with the whisky made its round again and when Robert had it he came over and held it to Kai's lips. Ray put his hand on the bottle. "No more alcohol for him! He needs tee, maybe water, but no alcohol!" Robert ignored me, took the bottle again and held it to Kai's lips. Kai started drinking, coughed, and then drank again.  
  
"Stop it! Do you wanna make him drunk so he can't stand anymore?" Ray grabbed at the whisky. He was pushed to the side rudely.  
  
"Got a loose tong, boy." Kai seemed amused.  
  
"Don't talk into my decisions, understand? We've still got a good way to go and he needs all the strength that this can give him."  
  
As soon as Ray was finished with putting the bandage on Kai tried to get up. Ray pressed him to the ground again and put one of his knees onto Kai's chest, so he would stay where he was.  
  
"I said don't move!" Ray was angry now. He pulled on Robert's kilt so he would kneel down next to him again.  
  
"Look at this!" Ray grabbed the bloody shirt and handed it to Robert. He dropped it with a disgusted look on his face. Ray took his hand and put it onto Kai's shoulder.  
  
"And that, too. Some kind of a weapon went straightly through the muscle!"  
  
"A Bayonet." Kai helped Ray out.  
  
"A Bayonet! Why didn't you say that earlier?"  
  
Kai wanted to lift his shoulders, but stopped his attempts after noticing how much this hurt.  
  
"I felt how it had gone into my shoulder, but I didn't know if it would be a bad wound; and it didn't hurt that bad."  
  
"Does it hurt now?" Ray asked.  
  
"Yes." Kai answered.  
  
"Good! You don't deserve any better! Maybe that'll teach you not to run around, kidnapping women, killing people,...." Ray was really getting pissed. But not only him, Robert too.  
  
"Can you hold your legs left and right of a horse, Kai?"  
  
"He can't go anywhere! He should be in a hospital! And he surely can't...." again Ray was ignored.  
  
"Can you ride?" Robert repeated his question.  
  
"Aye, if you take this boy off my chest and give me a new shirt I can."  
  
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(1) I don't know if Ian has black eyes... but this is my fic so here he's got black eyes! There! *sticks out tong*  
  
(2) I'm not really sure that 'Kate' is the right word *turns red* I mean an old fashioned Inn.  
  
(3) The Craigh na Dun is the Stone Circle Ray had came through.  
  
(4) Yes I know Bishi is Japanese, but I just had to make clear that they all feel attracted to Ray *smile*  
  
(5) Yes I know... sooo not true... it was the woman who should remain silent... but I just had to change that small word.... gomen!!!  
  
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Chi: Well I hope that Chappie was better and more descriptive *smile* for the long time I took to write it, it's a 'little' longer hehe  
  
Please R&R and tell me what you think *smile*  
  
If I don't get any reviews I won't write Chappie 3 ;o)  
  
Bye!!!! 


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